Chapter 288: Tremors, Flames and Passing

Chapter 288: Tremors, Flames and Passing

_________ POV Narration _________

The first thing Whitebeard did was to step forward and stare at the elders defiantly, the bubble of tremor that covered his body shook and quaked the ground all around him consistently.

This was a feat that he hadn't been able to perform during his older years due to the starting it put on the body and heart it was likely a huge reason for his aggravated sickness in what was supposed to be his last years.

'True Tremor Body'

It was a simple name, but it was essentially Whitebeard using his entire body as a conduit, constantly releasing the full potential of his tremor fruit all around him.

In the past, even Roger had lost to that move sometimes, it was extremely deadly to even allies nearby.

Unfortunately, he had no time to worry about his allies. Protecting Marco was one of his greatest priorities, sure, but he couldn't do so without going all out.

"Marco! Flee for now! I'll stop them here!" Whitebeard immediately dashed forward like a demon, and he was immediately intercepted by Saint Warcury, who charged towards him at full speed as well.

The Tremor Pirate lashed out with a punch, meeting the elder's tough skull with a grim look on his face.

He could feel his knuckles breaking against the Elder's head, but he could also feel the Elder's skull splitting and his brains turning to mush.

The Boar Demon was sent flying backwards, but Whitebeard was given no time to recover.

A shadow sped past him and immediately slashed at his side, spilling blood everywhere as the half-transformed figure of Saint Nusjuro rushed past him.

The Elder's long blade was already stained with Whitebeard's blood, and he raised his hoofs, aiming to kick the legendary pirate's head and kill him in the same move.

Unfortunately, the sword-wielding elder didn't even manage to revel in that first hit properly before he received what was likely the most powerful kick he had ever felt, straight to the neck.

"Collier!"

The kick was delivered by none other than Sanji, ironically the Vinsmoke's greatest biological weapon ever invented.

The Saint's neck was bent unnaturally against the powerful haki-enhanced leg, the elder could feel the bones in his neck cracking as he was sent flying, and Sanji immediately followed after him, giving Whitebeard a concerned look before rushing forward.

Saint Mars, the gigantic bird demon, tried to swoop down on Whitebeard and Sanji, but he was intercepted by the much smaller figure of a blue Pheonix.

"MARCO! I TOLD YOU TO RUN!" Whitebeard shouted as he punched away the spider-like leg of one of the elders whilst getting swiped by the gigantic worm body of another.

He was sent flying to the side as well, his muscles constricting and shifting to stem the bleeding from Saint Nusjuro's slash.

"I won't let you fight alone Pop!" Marco shouted whilst doing his best to struggle against Saint Mars's powerful talons.

The Blue Phoenix was far outmatched. Unlike Sanji, he couldn't fight against an Elder alone, he was far weaker.

But he was pulling through with sheer stubbornness and willpower, wanting to at least try to take some of the burden off of his father's back.

Sanji had the same thought, he was also not enough to hold back an elder alone. He had gotten a lot stronger during his time on Raftel, but he was at best at the level of an old Big Mom, one without any devil fruit at that...

Nusjuro's blade had already left a lot of gashes and cuts on his body, meanwhile his kicks only really did enough damage to push back the sword-wielding saint a few times.

"Hmm... You seem proud of your legs. I will make sure to at least take them from you!" The Horse Demon Elder shouted, showcasing his bloodlust as he immediately became more aggressive. Follow the latest novels at novelhall.com

Sanji immediately scowled underneath his mask, but he struggled to match the Elder's intensity.

Marco was not doing any better, having already gained a few injuries. But he could still heal himself thanks to his devil fruit powers.

Whitebeard unfortunately also didn't have the time to worry about his son now, he was faced with two elders, both able to move faster than him, and both able to regenerate from attacks.

In an instant, a gigantic paw print appeared in mid-air and slammed into the elder's body, sending him flying and subsequently slowing down Whitebeard's fall.

Kuma moved quicker than most, using his devil fruit to travel there as quickly as he could.

And after him followed the others.

Francisco immediately jumped, catching Whitebeard's gigantic body and landing on the ground with a slight thud, before placing him down.

Saint Saturn immediately recovered, his gigantic legs stretched to impale both Francisco and Whitebeard.

"God of Lightning Tenjin!"

He didn't get close, as a gigantic cloud stretched above him and the other elders, bombarding all of them with lightning, courtesy of an enraged Big Mom who immediately swooped in and slashed half of Saturn's legs off.

Saint Nusjuro was also interrupted from slashing both of Sanji's legs off, being skewered by a large dark blade, with Mihawk rushing at his side and being sent flying by a strangely rotating flying slash from Zoro, who also hurried to save his annoying crewmate.

Saint Peter wanted to burrow into the ground now that Whitebeard was in no state to stop him, but he was stopped by the gigantic form of a western dragon with wings and lighting on its wings.

Dragon dug his large claws into Peter's worm-like body and forced him in place.

"Where do you think you're going?" The Revolutionary Dragon huffed, the wind from the beat of his wings further helped suppress Peter, as well as push Elder Warcury away.

Warcury tried to charge towards Big Mom, aiming to maim her at least as his tusks turned to blades once more.

But he was stopped in his tracks by a flying slash, sent by Francisco, who was still standing crouched near Whitebeard.

"You look worse than ever old man..." Francisco muttered as he slowly gripped the handle of his blade, veins slowly bulging on his hand and arm.

But he didn't show that to his dying comrade, he just showed him a reassuring smile.

"Heh-" Whitebeard coughed a bit of blood before continuing. "Francisco... Can you-"

"Don't worry, I'll try and make sure that no further harm comes to your family." The old swordsman already knew Whitebeard best.

Even at the end of his life, there was only really one thing he cared about.

"Then I'll leave it to you..." Whitebeard gave Francsico a bloody smile. The former First Hand of the Rocks slowly stood up and walked towards the Elders, the grip on his sabre tighter than ever before.

Whitebeard looked towards Marco's body for one last time. And just as the light was fading from his eyes, he thought he saw a spark of blue flame on the Pheonix fruit user's corpse.

That blue spark turned into a bonfire, immediately swallowing up Marco's corpse.

At the sight of that, a genuine smile filled with relief appeared on Whitebeard's face.

'It was a good journey... Take care, everyone.'

And just like that. A legend had passed away, and any regrets were washed away by a life well lived.

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Hello there!

Since I've finished this series on Patre-on I'll be uploading daily now till it's over here too.

Anyway, this chapter was pretty nice to write, but also kinda sad. It's no secret that I love Whitebeard. This war isn't going to be free of casualties anyway

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